According to The Washington Post, there are some early signs that our region’s winter of 2015 “could be on the cold and snowy side, again.” While it’s too early to tell, it’s never too early to prepare your building and property for frigid temperatures.
Cold weather can play havoc with mechanical and electrical equipment. Generators and HVAC equipment are especially vulnerable to malfunctioning when temperatures drop. Here’s our checklist of some things you can do now to get your facility ready, in case this winter delivers another polar vortex.
- Protect your generator fuel from freezing with fuel additives.
- Make sure your block heaters, engine oil heaters, and battery warmers are in good working order. Have back-ups ready.
- Be sure that the glycol content in all glycol/water mixtures is still at the appropriate levels to avoid freezing. Maintenance is critical.
- Exposed chilled water lines should be properly heat-traced and/or insulated.
- The lower humidity caused by cold weather increases static electricity. Make sure you have operational humidifiers in place to maintain 40-60% relative humidity and protect your IT and other equipment.
- Check your sensors and remote monitoring systems to help prevent damage from temperature and humidity fluctuations.
- Have a cold weather plan for your people – accommodations if they have to stay overnight, plans for road access.
With our full range of electrical and mechanical construction and data center services, Compu Dynamics can help you prepare for the cold weather. Give us a call at (703) 796-6070 before the temperatures dip.
